Fish processing with high service life

Freshly caught fish are nowadays increasingly processed at once on fishing trawlers. Sophisticated fish-head processing and slaughter machines from Baader, Luebeck, processes 32 fish per minute (max. 90 cm long weighing 7 kg).
The machine components are therefore exposed to an aggressive mixture of seawater and blood. Here the lubricant-free "iglidur®" plastic plain bearing from igus® GmbH, Cologne, proves itself. The maintenance-free polymer bearings are integrated in rust-free roller chains, which is used for driving the main and ancillary units.

Profile

What was needed: iglidur plain bearings
Requirements: High reliability and freedom from maintenance of all components, as limited maintenance work can be carried out on board the ship
Industry: Food industry
Success for the customer: Thanks to new stainless roller chains "12 B-2" from Wippermann Engineering with iglidur high-performance bearings in the chain joints, the service life could be significantly increased from 400 to 450 hours to over 3,000 operating hours.

Fishing trawler with de-heading and gutting machines below deck.

Problem

Fish is processed below deck in two shifts by machines weighing 1.5 tons. The whole thing happens in a sea state, with multidirectional accelerations of up to three times the acceleration due to gravity acting directly on the machines and their components. This also applies to Baader's sophisticated de-heading and gutting machines, which are used on these very ships. The roller chains used to drive the main and auxiliary units of these machines, as well as all other components, are subject to the most stringent requirements. This means that no maintenance work can be carried out on deck. Here, accordingly, absolute freedom from maintenance and reliability of all components applies to the processing of the fish on board the ship. However, the conventional roller chains initially used here were already worn after 400 to 450 hours and had to be replaced. It therefore came as no surprise that the operators quickly started looking for a robust and durable alternative to the previous rol e-chain®.

Solution

Today, the machine builder Baader relies on stainless roller chains "12 B-2" from Wippermann Engineering in Hagen. Thanks to the new solution with Wippermann's "Marathon Chains", an operating time could be increased to more than 3,000 operating hours in the meantime - a significant increase compared to the previous solution. Equally decisive: the chains do not need to be relubricated or retightened. The rol e-chain® owes its enormous increase in service life - without maintenance - to its special link design. A high-performance plain bearing made of iglidur was used in a stainless steel carrier bearing, whereby the tribology of the chain joint was significantly improved. The plain plastic bearing is characterised by extremely high wear resistance, a low coefficient of friction, high compressive strength and resistance to chemicals. In addition, it is maintenance-free and insensitive to dirt. Tests at Wippermann confirmed the selection before it went into series production. In the past, the cooperation has already led to various tailor-made bearing solutions for Wippermann chains. This is because every chain application places different demands on the components involved.

Overview of iglidur plastic plain bearings